| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Julian Shen-Berro | Presented by Con Edison | Former governor and former attorney general Andrew Cuomo has added yet another strategy to his crusade to discredit the current attorney general, whose investigation led to his resignation. On Tuesday, he filed a 48-page complaint against Attorney General Tish James with the Attorney Grievance Committee, which has the power to disbar New York lawyers. The complaint is an amalgamation of the points Cuomo and his team have argued since he voluntarily resigned amid sexual harassment allegations in August 2021: that James' report was politically motivated and inflated the allegations made against him. It also targets the two investigators James tapped to handle the probe, Joon Kim and Anne Clark. "James issued a Report, with the assistance of her hand-picked investigators Mr. Kim and Ms. Clark, that was grossly misleading, and purposefully omitted critical information that was inconsistent with credible allegations of sexual harassment," Cuomo's complaint reads. It's unclear what the committee will do with the complaint. (Last year, the committee temporarily suspended Rudy Giuliani's license for communicating "demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large" while working for former President Donald Trump.) Cuomo's lawyer status has also come up with the committee. In February a group of anti-harassment advocates filed a complaint of their own seeking Cuomo's disbarment. It was shortly after that Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin had promised Cuomo would file the complaint against Tish that emerged yesterday. Cuomo's efforts to reenter the public spotlight have ebbed and flowed over the past year, but seem to be heating up once again. Last month, he sued James because they disagree about whether taxpayers should pay for his defense in a sexual harassment suit against him. His spokesperson and campaign account have been promoting a Daily News opinion article from August that criticizes James' inquiry and the accounts that led to her conclusions. Over the past month, his campaign — which still has millions of dollars to spend — has run $60,000 of ads on Facebook to try to rebrand Cuomo's departure from office with phrases such as "Cuomo's resignation is #MeToo excess, not success." James' office didn't comment Tuesday, but questioned the success of such a complaint when Glavin first suggested it in February with the statement: "If he thinks he has a real legal case, he should go ahead and file it. These attacks are disgraceful and yet another desperate charade to mask the truth: Andrew Cuomo is a serial sexual harasser." IT'S WEDNESDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: EDurkin@politico.com and agronewold@politico.com, or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold WHERE'S KATHY? Making a transportation announcement at the Binghamton Airport. WHERE'S ERIC? Speaking at WPP's Leadership Conference, attending the Michael Kors fashion show at Fashion Week, meeting with Mayor José Luis Martinez-Almeida of Madrid and Consul General of Spain in New York Caridad Batalla, speaking at a Department of Buildings event, meeting with Councilor of Paris and Deputy Mayor of the 17th District Paul Hatte, and speaking at the "Jimmy Neary Way" street co-naming ceremony.
| | A message from Con Edison: As the 2nd largest solar producer in North America, Con Edison is working to power our home with 100% clean energy, transforming New York into an example of sustainability for the rest of the world. From homes to apartments and everywhere in between, renewables, like solar, are just the beginning of our renewable future. See Our Energy Future | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | "NYC fails to house dozens of homeless people in latest 'Right to Shelter' blunder for Mayor Adams," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt: "Dozens of homeless men were turned away from an intake center in Manhattan due to a lack of available beds Monday night, according to two local advocacy groups, marking the second time this summer that Mayor Adams' administration has violated the city's 'Right to Shelter' law. In a joint statement Tuesday, the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless said they had received confirmation from the city Department of Social Services that at least 60 men were denied placement at the intake center on 30th Street and First Avenue." " New State Rules Offer Road Map for Regulating Private Hasidic Schools," by The New York Times' Brian M. Rosenthal and Eliza Shapiro : "The New York State Board of Regents on Tuesday voted for the first time to require private schools to prove they are teaching English, math and other basic subjects or risk losing government funding. The adoption of the new rules by the board, which oversees the state education department, could prove to be a watershed moment for Hasidic Jewish religious schools that for years have essentially been free to offer little or no secular instruction while still collecting public money. State education officials had been considering the measure for years, and the vote came days after The New York Times reported that more than 100 boys' schools run by the Hasidic Jewish community have collected $1 billion in public funding in recent years but deprived generations of students of a basic education." Adams opposes City Council proposal to ban solitary confinement in city jails, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg: Mayor Eric Adams made plain his opposition to a City Council measure that would outlaw solitary confinement in city jails amid a reckoning over violence at the Rikers Island detention complex. "Someone slashes you with a knife on the street, I put him in jail. I remove him from population because he's dangerous. Someone slashes someone inside a jail, what do I do with him? I move him from population and I put him someplace by himself until he corrects his actions, or gets the assistance he needs," Adams said during an interview at the National Press Club Tuesday in Washington, D.C. "Arsenic Probe Heats Up: Not the End of NYCHA Inquiry, Says Federal Monitor," by The City's Greg B. Smith: "The federal monitor overseeing NYCHA has teamed up with the city's corruption watchdog — which has subpoena power that he does not — to figure out what happened with the arsenic scare at the Jacob Riis Houses that has frightened and enraged tenants there. On the Friday evening of Labor Day weekend, NYCHA and Mayor Eric Adams made a surprise announcement that test results had detected arsenic in the water at Riis, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and advised the 2,600 residents there not to drink or cook with the water until tests showed the water was clear of contaminants. A week later, this past Friday night, NYCHA and Adams' team suddenly reversed course, telling a roomful of 300 furious tenants at a community meeting that the test results were actually flawed — and that there was no arsenic in the water. The room erupted in anger and disbelief." "Still rebuilding from Ida, some NYC residents in flood-prone areas get hit again," by WNYC's Gwynne Hogan: "Some New York City residents in Brooklyn and Queens whose homes were damaged by last year's Hurricane Ida woke up to flood destruction yet again, despite the city's repeated promises to prevent this damage. Dennis Stephen, 46, a homeowner in Middle Village, Queens, whose basement flooded with several feet of water during Ida, was jolted from slumber early Tuesday morning by the sound of sirens. 'We saw there was a huge river in our community driveway,' he said. Downstairs, the water in the basement of his home reached as high as his calves — less than during Ida, but enough to require work to fix. He got to work with a shop vacuum once the water had lowered slightly." "In New York City, Pandemic Job Losses Linger," by The New York Times' Nicole Hong and Matthew Haag: "The darkest days of the pandemic are far behind New York City. Masks are coming off, Times Square is packed with tourists and Midtown Manhattan lunch spots have growing lines of workers in business suits. Walking around the city, it often feels like 2019 again. But the bustling surface obscures a lingering wound from the pandemic. While the country as a whole has recently regained all of the jobs it lost early in the health crisis, New York City is still missing 176,000, representing the slowest recovery of any major metropolitan area, according to the latest employment data. … The lopsided recovery threatens to deepen inequality in a city where apartment rents are soaring, while the number of residents receiving temporary government assistance has jumped by almost a third since February 2020."
| | | | A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION ON LEADING FROM THE GROUND UP: Join POLITICO's Women Rule on Sept. 15 for conversations focused on creating and leading sustainable, healthy and inclusive communities. The program will feature a Member Exchange panel followed by a keynote discussion exploring the most pressing issues facing women in their communities and women in leadership roles who are best positioned to solve these problems. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "Rensselaer County's Republican elections commissioner arrested by FBI," by Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons: "Jason T. Schofield, the Republican Rensselaer County Board of Elections commissioner, was arrested outside his residence Tuesday morning by the FBI and charged with fraudulently obtaining and filing absentee ballots last year using the personal information of at least eight voters without their permission, according to an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court. The indictment handed up last week — and unsealed Tuesday during his arraignment — charges Schofield with 12 felony counts of unlawful possession and use of a means of identification." "NY Regents boost private school education oversight; what districts face," Journal News' Nancy Cutler: "The New York State Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday to update controversial 'substantial equivalency' rules for nonpublic schools, an effort that turned into a years-long battle, even though the rules would enforce a law on the books since 1865. The so-called Part 130 regulations charge local school districts with assessing education quality in all nonpublic schools within their borders. Local districts, with the state education commissioner, also must establish action for those that don't provide an education that is considered substantially equivalent to what kids in the public schools receive…The K-12 panel approved the rules on Monday; the full Regents took their vote Tuesday with no debate." "New York's Plan to Put Pot Dealers with Convictions First in Line Hits Snags," by The City's Gabriel Poblete: "New York State is the first state in the nation to put people with past marijuana-related criminal convictions first in line for legal retail licenses — but those applicants say they're finding the application, due by Sept. 26, dauntingly complex. Hector Bonilla is one of more than 450 people who've reached out to the nonprofit legal services group Bronx Defenders for help with the piles of paperwork, and one of about 50 who are eligible to pursue a retail license. 'I would be ecstatic, man,' Bonilla said about the possibility of scoring one of the 150 forthcoming Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses. 'I can't even believe this is happening.'" "Pro-Zeldin PAC gets $1M boost as GOP counterattack begins amid Hochul ad blitz," by New York Post's Zach Williams: "Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has enjoyed a huge cash advantage against Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk) ahead of the Nov. 8 election – but an influx of cash has him and allies launching a counteroffensive this week focused on rising crime. 'You're looking at actual violent crimes caught on camera in Kathy Hochul's New York. On Nov. 8, vote like your life depends on it. It just might,' an ominous voice says in an ad airing statewide through a seven-figure ad buy beginning Tuesday." #UpstateAmerica: Noodle, the canine TikToK sensation, will be appearing at Rochester's Lollypop Farm for the The Walk for the Animals at Barktober Fest.
| | | | A message from Con Edison:   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "Elise Stefanik to seek second term as House GOP chair, not whip," by The Hill's Emily Brooks: "Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) announced that she will seek another term as House Republican Conference chair on Tuesday, ending months of speculation that she might seek the position of House majority whip if Republicans win control of the chamber…Stefanik had long held her cards close to the vest on her plans for next year, often saying that she was focused on winning back the majority. Her announcement of her intention to seek a second term as House GOP chair came shortly after news leaked that Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) planned to host an event on Thursday to formally launch his own bid, which his office confirmed to The Hill. Donalds, one of only two Black House Republicans in the current Congress, had previously said that he was exploring a run for the role." — The Black conservative who's challenging Stefanik for House GOP leadership, by POLITICO's Olivia Beavers
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — The City Council launched a $1 million fund to bankroll abortions for people who can't afford them. — The deaths of three children found on the Coney Island beach have been ruled homicides. — There have been signs of business and employment growth in the Rockaways over the decade since Hurricane Sandy. — A former MetroNorth official was sentenced to at least a year in prison for fixing MTA bids in return for kickbacks. — A City Council member plans to introduce a bill banning the sale of non-certified e-bike batteries, which have been responsible for fires. — Opponents of the city's longest open street in Jackson Heights allegedly berated program volunteers with homophobic and xenophobic slurs. — The city will consider landmarking Julius Bar, known as the oldest gay bar in New York City. — A staffing crisis at residential facilities that serve those who are intellectually and developmentally disabled is costing more than $100 million a year to handle. — General Electric Co. has agreed to study whether contaminants are present in the lower Hudson River. — Mayor Eric Adams wants to change federal regulations to allow migrants arriving in New York to work without waiting six months. — A new bill introduced in the City Council would require food industry chains to add sugar content warnings to menu items.
| | | | Join POLITICO Live on Tuesday, Sept. 20 to dive into how federal regulators, members of Congress, and the White House are seeking to write the rules on digital currencies, including stablecoins. The panel will also cover the tax implications of crypto, which could be an impediment to broader adoption and the geopolitical factors that the U.S. is considering as it begins to draw regulatory frameworks for crypto. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs … NYT's Matt Flegenheimer and Tim Arango … Axios' Hans Nichols … MSNBC's Alex Korson … Julia Savel … Elliot Berke of Berke Farah … Victoria Esser of Belle Haven Consulting … Jillian Hughes of Mental Health America … Paula Dobriansky … NBC's Scott Foster … Bloomberg's Katie Boyce … Melina Delkic … Naomi Karavani WEDDING — Evangeline George, who leads public affairs and business communications at Shipt, on Aug. 27 married Nathan Muller, a commercial credit officer at Bank of America. The couple met at the beginning of the pandemic at a friend's socially-distanced backyard hang. Pic SPOTTED: Terri McCullough, Stephanie Ueng, Jennifer Poulakidas, Elizabeth Miller and Elizabeth Bourgeois. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Helen Sharp, founder and CEO of PR firm Be Influential, and Adam Robinson, founder and CEO of identity resolution software firm Rentention.com, on Aug. 21 welcomed Emma Schweppe Robinson. Pic ... Another pic
| | A message from Con Edison: From building a 22nd century grid to installing 400,000 EV charging ports by 2035, Con Edison is committed to shaping the new energy future—for our fellow New Yorkers and the generations to come.
And we can all do our part too. Small changes like switching to clean heating and cooling technology make a big difference for your home and our world. See Our Energy Future | | | | | Real Estate | | "NYC should expand rental assistance program to include undocumented immigrants, advocates urge City Hall," by Gothamist's Chau Lam: "The city's housing voucher rental assistance program should be reformed to allow undocumented immigrants access to aid, homeless and housing advocates said at a rally Tuesday on the steps of City Hall. The call from officials at the Legal Aid Society, VOCAL-NY, Neighbors Together, and the Community Service Society comes amid an influx of asylum seekers to New York City in recent months from the southern border, where Republican governors are busing migrants to northern cities." " NY's attorney general is eyeing co-living companies as residents complain over 'scam' housing," by Gothamist's Jake Offenhartz: "Residents of Bungalow, one of New York's largest co-living platforms, say they are the victim of an egregious housing "scam," accusing the company of terminating their leases early and duping them into subpar living conditions that are far from what was promoted. The start-up, worth an estimated $600 million, is one of dozens of companies acting as a real estate middleman in New York's nascent co-living market: renting out apartments from owners, then subleasing individual rooms to tenants who share bathrooms, kitchens, and common areas. The companies have been subject of mounting complaints by tenants, which are now being eyed by New York's top lawyer. New York Attorney General Letitia James' office told Gothamist that companies like Bungalow, which began operating in New York City in 2018, are being 'monitored.'" | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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